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Matthew 12

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1 At that time did Jesus go on the sabbaths through the corn, and his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears, and to eat,

2 and the Pharisees having seen, said to him, `Lo, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on a sabbath.'

3 And he said to them, `Did ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, himself and those with him --

4 how he went into the house of God, and the loaves of the presentation did eat, which it is not lawful to him to eat, nor to those with him, except to the priests alone?

5 `Or did ye not read in the Law, that on the sabbaths the priests in the temple do profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

6 and I say to you, that a greater than the temple is here;

7 and if ye had known what is: Kindness I will, and not sacrifice -- ye had not condemned the blameless,

8 for the son of man is lord even of the sabbath.'

9 And having departed thence, he went to their synagogue,

10 and lo, there was a man having the hand withered, and they questioned him, saying, `Is it lawful to heal on the sabbaths?' that they might accuse him.

11 And he said to them, `What man shall be of you, who shall have one sheep, and if this may fall on the sabbaths into a ditch, will not lay hold on it and raise [it]?

12 How much better, therefore, is a man than a sheep? -- so that it is lawful on the sabbaths to do good.'

13 Then saith he to the man, `Stretch forth thy hand,' and he stretched [it] forth, and it was restored whole as the other.

14 And the Pharisees having gone forth, held a consultation against him, how they might destroy him,

15 and Jesus having known, withdrew thence, and there followed him great multitudes, and he healed them all,

16 and did charge them that they might not make him manifest,

17 that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

18 `Lo, My servant, whom I did choose, My beloved, in whom My soul did delight, I will put My Spirit upon him, and judgment to the nations he shall declare,

19 he shall not strive nor cry, nor shall any hear in the broad places his voice,

20 a bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, till he may put forth judgment to victory,

21 and in his name shall nations hope.'

22 Then was brought to him a demoniac, blind and dumb, and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, `Is this the Son of David?'

24 but the Pharisees having heard, said, `This one doth not cast out demons, except by Beelzeboul, ruler of the demons.'

25 And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, `Every kingdom having been divided against itself is desolated, and no city or house having been divided against itself, doth stand,

26 and if the Adversary doth cast out the Adversary, against himself he was divided, how then doth his kingdom stand?

27 `And if I, by Beelzeboul, do cast out the demons, your sons -- by whom do they cast out? because of this they -- they shall be your judges.

28 `But if I, by the Spirit of God, do cast out the demons, then come already unto you did the reign of God.

29 `Or how is one able to go into the house of the strong man, and to plunder his goods, if first he may not bind the strong man? and then his house he will plunder.

30 `He who is not with me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me, doth scatter.

31 Because of this I say to you, all sin and evil speaking shall be forgiven to men, but the evil speaking of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men.

32 And whoever may speak a word against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven to him, but whoever may speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is coming.

33 `Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad, for from the fruit is the tree known.

34 `Brood of vipers! how are ye able to speak good things -- being evil? for out of the abundance of the heart doth the mouth speak.

35 The good man out of the good treasure of the heart doth put forth the good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure doth put forth evil things.

36 `And I say to you, that every idle word that men may speak, they shall give for it a reckoning in a day of judgment;

37 for from thy words thou shalt be declared righteous, and from thy words thou shalt be declared unrighteous.'

38 Then answered certain of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, `Teacher, we will to see a sign from thee.'

39 And he answering said to them, `A generation, evil and adulterous, doth seek a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;

40 for, as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

41 `Men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for they reformed at the proclamation of Jonah, and lo, a greater than Jonah here!

42 `A queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and lo, a greater than Solomon here!

43 `And, when the unclean spirit may go forth from the man, it doth walk through dry places seeking rest, and doth not find;

44 then it saith, I will turn back to my house whence I came forth; and having come, it findeth [it] unoccupied, swept, and adorned:

45 then doth it go, and take with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and having gone in they dwell there, and the last of that man doth become worse than the first; so shall it be also to this evil generation.'

46 And while he was yet speaking to the multitudes, lo, his mother and brethren had stood without, seeking to speak to him,

47 and one said to him, `Lo, thy mother and thy brethren do stand without, seeking to speak to thee.'

48 And he answering said to him who spake to him, `Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?'

49 And having stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, he said, `Lo, my mother and my brethren!

50 for whoever may do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.'

   

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Keeping the Sabbath

Napsal(a) Rev. Kurt Horigan Asplundh

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work....(Exodus 20:8-10)

Unlike the other commandments against murder, adultery and theft, which are sustained by the civil laws of society, Sabbath observance is not compulsory for us as it originally was for the Jews. Traditionally, Sunday has been set apart in the Christian world as a day of worship rather than a working day. However, civil statutes and regulations, often called "blue laws," instituted to protect the sanctity of the Sabbath, have been abolished for the most part. Public worship of the Lord is now, perhaps more than ever, in competition with a great variety of other activities, both occupational and recreational. The plain fact is, many people regard Sunday as just another day off, feeling little or no obligation to attend church services or to reflect on spiritual things.

The Heavenly Doctrine for the New Church teaches that the worship of the Lord should be by free choice rather than by compulsion (see Heaven and Hell 603). "Worship from freedom is pleasing to the Lord," we are told, "but not worship from compulsion..." (Arcana Coelestia 9588). We believe this refers to adults who are capable of making a free and rational choice, not to children. Yet all, adults as well as children, should heed the Lord's commandment. We cannot be compelled to worship against our will, but we can compel ourselves. True freedom is born of self-compulsion (see Arcana Coelestia 1947). And the Lord has said: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."

Yet, as with all the commandments of the Decalogue, there is so much more for us to learn about what is meant by keeping the Sabbath than its formal observance in public worship. What are the deeper implications of the third commandment?

We know that strict observance of the Sabbath had been carried to extremes in the Lord's time on earth. Interpreters of the Law had added a proliferation of customs to its original intent. The legitimate forms of observance had been surrounded by man-made additions - to the extent that the mercy and purpose of the Lord's laws were obscured. The Lord came to open their meaning. His acts on the Sabbath, seemingly contrary to Scripture, actually were in accord with its spiritual intent and revealed His eternal laws.

The meaning of the law of the Sabbath is simply this: that the Lord alone can save us by His teaching and His healing. This is the "work" of the Sabbath and He alone can do it. That is why we are taught that on this day we should do no work.

When the Lord came as the Son of Man into the world, He said He was "Lord also of the Sabbath" (Luke 6:5).

He could work the works of God on that day, teaching and healing. And what more appropriate day could there be for His Divine work of saving souls? So He said, "it is lawful to do good on the sabbath days" (Matthew 12:12).

We are taught that when the Lord came into the world, "that day became a day of instruction in Divine things...and of meditation on such things as relate to salvation and eternal life, as also a day of love toward the neighbor" (True Christian Religion 301).

The particular rituals of the Jewish law were annulled, but the Lord in no way abolished the commandment that the Sabbath was to be remembered and kept holy (see Arcana Coelestia 9394).

Our need for this now is just as great as it was for the Children of Israel. And now we can know why. We keep the Sabbath holy when, at any time, in any situation, we act from the Lord's will instead of from our own. In essence, what is taught about the Sabbath has no relation to a day or to any time, but to a state of mind. To remember the Sabbath day is to acknowledge the goodness of the Lord, to recognize that the Lord alone is the source of all that is good and to trust that He is the way, the truth, and the life.

You see, the origin of all evil was to confirm in ourselves the appearance of self-life, the false appearance that life is our own. The remedy for evil must be the opposite: to acknowledge that life is not our own but the Lord's gift to us. This is the inner message of the Sabbath day and the reason to keep it holy.

The true Sabbath is a spiritual state of peace. It is found in those fleeting but comforting moments when our confidence in the Lord is affirmed. For "peace has in it confidence in the Lord," we are told, "that He directs all things, and provides all things, and that He leads to a good end." And, wonderful to say, "When a person is in this faith, he is in peace, for he then fears nothing, and no anxiety about things to come disquiets him" (Arcana Coelestia 8455). It is noteworthy that self-confidence is what takes away this state of peace. Although there is an inner meaning to the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, it is important, while in this world, to remember the Sabbath in external as well as internal worship. The reasons for this are first, "by external worship internal things are excited," second, "by means of external worship external things are kept in holiness, so that internal things can flow in," third, "a person is thus imbued with knowledges and is prepared for receiving celestial things," and fourth, the person "is also gifted with states of holiness, although he is unaware of this, which...are preserved...by the Lord for the use of eternal life" (Arcana Coelestia 1618).

The Heavenly Doctrine for the New Church teaches that there are certain external "signs of charity" that express our internal charity. These include attending services of worship, partaking of the Holy Supper, praying privately as well as joining in public prayer, holding conversation about spiritual things with others, and reading the Word along with other books of instruction and piety. Further signs include thought and meditation concerning spiritual things, self-examination, aversion of the mind from impious and obscene language, and the discipline of our natural affections (see Charity 174-175). All of these external signs support internal worship.

The worship of the Lord and the external observance of the Sabbath day should be a regular part of our life. We should respond in the spirit of the psalmist when invited to participate in the worship of the Lord: Can we say, as he did, "I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord'"? (Psalm 122:1

"I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy..." (Psalm 5:7).

"Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 29:2).